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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29280246">The Three Words to Remember when Dealing with the End</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingnightwing/pseuds/flyingnightwing'>flyingnightwing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Death, F/M, Gen, Grief, Language, Pain, grim, self reflection about existence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:41:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,066</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29280246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingnightwing/pseuds/flyingnightwing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason finds something deeply unsettling during a not so typical night in Gotham (I’m not saying more y’all, read and find out).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jason Todd/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Three Words to Remember when Dealing with the End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! It's the first work I'm posting here from my tumblr (@/flying-nightwing), I hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><span>It had been a strange night for Jason. Things had been quiet, not too quiet to become suspicious, but enough to underwhelm him at an unsettling level. Everything from the gloomy, yellow-ish night sky above him to his tensed muscles screamed trouble--and his instincts were rarely wrong--but there was nothing big happening. He was almost tempted to pick a fight with the wrong person just for the sake of it, just to shake off this nagging feeling that serious shit was about to blow in his face. Although starting beef </span><em><span>again</span></em> <span>with Sionis would be quite entertaining, he wasn’t sure he had the energy to deal with another tantrum from the eccentric man on the longer term. </span></p><p>
  <span>So instead, he kicked the door from the building’s roof on which he was hanging around and half heartedly climbed down the stairs. Plastic tarps were flapping around in his face like badly designed Halloween ghosts, and the wind in the half constructed walls were whispering unintelligible songs in his ears. That specific construction site had been abandoned as the recurrent vandalism had weighed the construction costs into the negative, making the company leaving it behind completely as a rotting proof the poorer Gotham neighborhoods were no longer a concern to city hall. Jason thought about the community center that had been bulldozed down to make room for the apartment complex, leaving dozens if not hundreds of children and teenagers without an after school hangout place, and it made him sigh. Now the cheap carcass served to shelter squatters, or well, him when he needed a hideout in between safe houses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The building in itself wasn’t very high like the skyscrapers one could find in the diamond district, it was rather on par with the rest of the apartment complexes around. From a distance, you couldn’t even differentiate it from the rest. Cheap, smog stained concrete looked the same whether or not it was a finished product. The aesthetics wasn’t something developers around here were aiming for, nor were the resident seeking lodging. Low income neighborhoods didn’t get to benefit from trendy landscaping. But the city didn’t really care about that, they claimed nobody really came around here anyway, like poor people weren’t people in the first place. But Jason knew, and every day he resented those officials on the city council a little bit more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A thud coming from the floor he had just passed made him halt his descent, his ears strained to try and catch some more noise. He waited a few seconds, and concluded it must have been a squatter tripping and falling on the floor when no other sound followed. But he hadn’t taken a full step down that a loud and clear cry for help bounced on the unfinished plaster on the walls. Without much more thinking, he turned around and climbed back up the five steps he had already taken, going straight for the origin of the sound. He was about to round the corner of a threshold when he bumped into a frantic young woman, her eyes wide and terrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please help!” She cried, gripping the sleeves of his leather jacket like it was a lifeline. She had an angry, scabbed rope mark on her neck and bruises the size of fingerprints around. “Somebody’s after me, he tried to strangle me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, that was a new one. Usually, there would be little punks making graffiti or trying to steal material from the structure, petty non-violent crimes like that, but he had never seen homicide, especially not since he started coming around. Nevertheless, he gently pushed the woman aside and pulled out his gun, ready to investigate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay close” He said, and she nodded vigorously. He carefully walked inside the room, analysing his surroundings for any thread or hostile individual. The floor creaked lightly under his boots, making the woman jump every other second. However, his search eventually came up empty, so he clicked the safety of his gun back on and slid it back in his thigh holster. He faced the girl and shrugged. “If there was anyone here, he’s long gone”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah” He replied. “Are you okay? What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure” She flinched, still visibly. “To either questions, to be honest. All I remember was seeing this blurred figure grab my head and slam it on the floor, then his hands were around my neck… And I woke up, and there we are” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have any idea who did this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really” She rubbed her temples. “I was grabbed on my way back from work and dragged in here. I know it was a man, but he was masked”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn” He muttered, looking around. There wasn’t much left to do now, beside making sure that woman got home safely. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Do you have somewhere safe to go?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I have an apartment a few blocks away” She nodded timidly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They climbed down the stairs, Jason following a pace behind her. She was recoiled on herself, her eyes darting from one place to another like she was expecting to be jumped at any time now. She was shivering from the harsh wind, clearly not dressed for one of Gotham’s cold September nights. He thought she was lucky to have fallen onto him and not someone with ill intentions. The people coming here usually left each other alone, but with the lady’s assailant on the loose, he wouldn’t be so trusting of everyone’s intentions around here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, we’re almost out” He said as the front door came into view. She sighed in relief as she took the last step down and closed the distance with the door. She reached for the handle, pulled, but nothing moved. She then tried to push, but it didn’t move any more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-It’s like it’s locked” She stuttered in disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me try” Jason stepped forward, pushing and pulling the door like she did before. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Strange, that door was never, ever locked.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He then tried to pick it, even break it, to no avail. The door simply wouldn’t open. He huffed and took a step back, thinking. “Let’s try the backdoor”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair moved through the ground floor, passing in front of a few empty sleeping bags on the way. Jason went straight for the small door, only to be met with the same problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you wanna play this game?” He muttered harshly, pulling out his gun and aiming at the handle. He fired a shot, but the bullet bounced right back on his red helmet. “Son of a bitch!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He muttered a few more curses before kicking the stubborn door in frustration, then turned to the woman. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, somebody doesn’t want us to leave '' He stated with bitter humour. “Maybe your wannabe killer is still around, after all”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh god” She gasped, her chest suddenly heaving quickly. She was having a panic attack. “We’re trapped. We’re gonna die, aren’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey” He tried to reassure her, an uncertain hand on her shoulder. “I won’t let him get near you. He certainly didn’t plan on having me around, so he’ll stay away if he knows what’s good for him. We’ll find a way out”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bent over, hands on her knees, and shut her eyes tight, focusing on her breathing until it somewhat calmed down. She then nodded slowly, standing straighter again. “O-okay”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a deep breath and nodded again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…” He drawled out, looking at her for a second more to be sure she was actually okay. “Let’s go around and see if there’s anyone in here tonight, and if they have seen anything”</span>
</p><p><span>“Are you sure it’s safe?” She eyed him with uncertainty. “..</span><span>.</span><em><span>He</span></em> <span>could be out there”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s his mistake” He shrugged. “Come on”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like earlier, she followed closely behind him as he checked each floor in detail. He came across a few homeless people he had seen around before, none of which could ever commit murder, or attempt to for that matter. He saw it in their eyes, they were harmless. They had been on the second floor, the only one which seemed inhabited at all that night. The third floor came up empty as well, so Jason didn’t waste time there either. However, he was a little more careful on the fourth. It was where he had found the girl, so there was a slight chance the assaulter might still be hanging around there. He began with the first apartment on the left, then the one on the right he initially searched. He paid specific attention to any detail he might find; hair, cloth, blood splatter, anything. He was crouched over a suspicious stain when he heard it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A deafening scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In less than a second, he was on his feet and through the threshold of an adjacent room, only to come face to face with a decaying corpse. The woman was staring with horror like she was in a trance, a hand covering her mouth to either hold back any more screams or her own vomit. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Probably both</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jason thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That definitely complicates things now” He hummed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you be so calm?” She was freaking out again. “There’s a body! A dead body!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know” He replied, unbothered, taking a step closer to observe. The nauseous smell of decomposition was starting to get through his helmet, and he genuinely wondered how she hadn’t barfed her guts up already. Her state of shock perhaps helped to keep her together, at least for now. “Looks like it’s a woman. Probably has been there for two weeks or--fuck this is nasty”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He backed up and gently pulled her out of the room, away from the corpse. She didn’t need to see anymore of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there’s good news and bad news” He sighed. “Bad news is your guy and this poor woman’s killer are most likely the same person. Good news is that you, unlike her, escaped him”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh god” She gagged, but dry heaved on air. “This can’t be happening”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, listen” He sighed, “I’m sure this is a lot for you, and you didn’t ask for any of this. But the killer is potentially here keeping us trapped, and I need you to hold it together a little bit longer until I figure this out, kay?”</span>
</p><p><span>She gave him a wild look like he was crazy. “How can you expect me to</span> <em><span>hold it together?</span></em><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Is there anything you can focus on?” He tried, getting a bit impatient. Things weren’t adding up in his head and he needed to concentrate, but he couldn’t if his new unwilling investigation partner started freaking out every other minute. Then, he noticed her fingers fidgeting with a necklace around her neck, a small ring with a azur gem hanging from it. “What does that ring mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked down at it, like she was surprised she had subconsciously showed it up. “Uh, it was my mother’s. Family heirloom, y’know. She gave it to me when I graduated college”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s very pretty” He said. “Look at it and think about your mother, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, and he took a step away to pace around in peace. So there was a killer who managed to trap them into the building, or intended to trap only her, which was why he was hiding away now that Jason was here too. But then again, Marty on the second floor didn’t see or hear anything all night, and that guy had a sharper ear than a cat. Then came the question of why he didn’t see or smell the body on his first general scouting of the place. Surely, a decaying body would have ticked him off way sooner. Maybe the killer dragged the body from a higher floor? It would make no sense as to why he would have done that, but there was no other logical explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He went to rub the bridge of his nose, only to be met with his helmet. He let out another muffled curse and looked at the ceiling in exasperation. “This is the one time I could use one of my stupid brothers”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a dry chuckle. “They’re idiots and annoying as fuck, but they’re better detectives than I could ever be. Solving this nonsense puzzle would be an easy game for them”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what’s stopping you from calling them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason paused, staring at the woman for a moment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, it wasn’t that simple</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span> “Last time we spoke, I… We fought pretty bad. I don’t think they ever want to see me again”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure--” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re on our own for this, trust me” He interrupted, his tone dry enough to make her recoil. He coughed and relaxed his tense posture, taking a deep breath. “I can solve this, I don’t need them. I’ll go check the body again, stay here”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” She called before he could turn around. “What if he comes back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked a few times, then began patting his side and pockets. He wouldn’t leave her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>gun</span>
  </em>
  <span>, or she’d hurt herself in the state she was in, or accidently shoot him for that matter. Nervous firing rarely even found their intended target anyway. A knife was also out of the question for the same reasons. Besides, she didn’t seem skilled enough to hold her own with a blade, and he had no idea what weapons the killer carried. The knife would basically be useless, if not more dangerous for her. He finally felt a small lump in his pant pocket, then fished for it. He pulled a small taser that definitely wasn’t his, remembering he had disarmed it from a goon earlier that night. He had no idea he had kept it, but it would do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here” He held it up to eye level, pressing the button. A blue-ish current was formed, crackling and fizzling. “You hold it out and press the side button to turn it on. Don’t point it at me or yourself. Got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh-- I guess--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great” He pushed the device in her hand and turned on his heels without more ceremonies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He inhaled deeply and held his breath as he returned to the corpse, thinking about a thousand better ways he could have been spending his Friday night. He crouched next to it, grimacing at the decaying skin that made the victim’s identity barely recognizable. He noticed the dried out hair first, it was the same color as the poor girl on the other side of the wall. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The exact same</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he could have sworn. The killer must have a very specific m.o. he stuck to. There had been a couple of girls going missing in the last weeks, it must have been one of them. Nobody would think to check here, or rather nobody would bother. He turned his head to the side, coughing as he worked to catch his breath despite the putrid smell. He forced himself to return to his half assed detective work, scanning for any trace of struggle or aggression. The rope the killer used to choke her was still around her neck, but that was nothing Jason could work with as he already knew about the obvious neck fetish that was in play here. He poked the rotten skin with the end of his gun, pushing hair and clothes away to try and find something he could have missed with a first glance. No viable piece of information could be found in the teeth or under the nail since he was about two weeks too late, and he could not make the distinction between decomposition marks and actual contusion marks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dammit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He had nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to give up when something shiny got his attention on the victim’s chest. There was a chain plunging into the neckline of her shirt, and with his gun he carefully pulled it up. He was certain his brain physically broke in two when he came face to face with a stained, yet recognizable ring with an azur stone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What…” He trailed off softly. “... The Fuck”</span>
</p><p><span>Thinking about it, the victim’s clothes were awfully similar to what the lady on the other side was wearing, beside the obvious dirtiness difference. He looked over his shoulder, to where she was pacing nervously, then back to the corpse. Same hair, same clothes, same ring. </span><em><span>Same approximate size, same bone structure, rope position coinciding with her strangling mark</span></em><span>. </span><span>Jason did not want to be thinking what he was thinking, because only crazy people were seeing ghosts. </span><em><span>But was he totally sane?</span></em> <span>That was debatable. It would explain why they were locked in the building for no goddamn reason, or why Marty didn’t hear anything, or why he did not notice the corpse or the smell during his initial search, or why that lady did not stop once to rethink asking an armed stranger in a red mask for help, or why… </span></p><p><span>Besides, ghosts would not even make the list of the weirdest things he’s seen. He himself came back from the dead, so the idea wasn’t actually that far fetched. But now, the question he faced was, how do you tell someone they’re dead, when they’re convinced they’re alive? Bruce’s training did</span> <em><span>not</span></em><span> prepare him for that, and honestly neither did Talia’s. </span></p><p>
  <span>He slowly stood up, trying to scour his brain for a gentle way to break it to her. He couldn't just rip the bandaid off, that would be insensitive. And if she really did control who could get in and out of the building, would sending her into ghost shock--if that was even a thing--risk trapping him here forever as well? How does one even </span>
  <em>
    <span>deal</span>
  </em>
  <span> with a bloody ghost? Reluctantly, he returned to the other room, where the woman looked at him with hopeful eyes. Jason felt a pinch in his heart, knowing he would be the one to break the news to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything?” She asked, her arms wrapping around herself. He gave a sad nod, and she sighed in relief. “Good, I just wanna go home”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” He struggled to find the words. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N)” She said, uncertain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason was glad his mask hid his expression. His eyes closed as his suspicions were officially confirmed; she had disappeared a little less than three weeks ago without a trace. She had been presumed dead by the GCPD, apparently rightfully so, he found out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N), I have good news and bad news”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kept staring at him to let him speak. She didn’t seem to grasp the undertone of his words, or how he somehow said it completely differently than the previous time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She really wasn’t aware of her situation</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good news is that I found who the victim is” He began, his voice heavy. He wasn’t the type to just get emotional for strangers like this, but this one especially struck a chord in him. “Bad news is… You’re--you’re not going home, (Y/N)”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her face fell. “W-What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The… Body, on the other side” He half heartedly pointed behind him. “It’s you. You went missing three weeks ago, and you’re...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s crazy!” She shrieked. “That’s impossible! I’m here, I’m right here, I’m real…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her voice faltered at the end, like she was starting to doubt herself. Jason softly jerked his head to the other room, silently making his way back to the corpse with her carefully following behind. He stopped and crouched like he had done minutes ago, and in the same way, lifted the ring. Something clicked in her face, a newfound horror etching on her features. This time, it wasn’t because she found a corpse, but because she found out the corpse was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hers</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…” She stumbled back, and Jason hurried to steady her. He didn’t know if it was necessary, since she probably couldn’t even feel physical pain anymore, but it seemed like the right thing to do. He escorted her out of the room once again and waited beside her as her entire reality came crashing down. It felt surreal for him, he couldn’t even imagine what it was like for her. He let her slide down the wall and rest her head in her hands as she processed all of this.  “I can’t be… My family, they must be worried sick”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, (Y/N)” He sighed, sliding down next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m--” She tried to argue, then a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m not ready to go”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took off his mask for the first time, ruffling his hair in the process. The least he could do was to give her a human face as the last she would ever see. “Take all the time you need, I’ve got nowhere else to be”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She eyed him with confusion, at both the removal of his mask and his words. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled sadly at her. “I don’t think you should be alone right now. I’m Jason, nice to formally meet you”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think it matters now” She mumbled, casting her glance downward. She handed him back the small taser, realizing she wouldn't need it anymore. “I’m dead. I don’t even know how I’m even still here, or where I’m even going. I don’t understand anything--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to,” He interrupted softly. “It’s okay not to understand. And it’s okay to be afraid. But death is a part of life, and despite how scary it might be when it rings at your door, sometimes it’s better not to fight it”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy to say for someone who is still alive” She said, making his lips subtly curl up. At least she was calming down now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I died years ago” He admitted, and her eyes widened comically. “No, I’m not a ghost if that’s what you’re wondering. I was resurrected through magic… But I know what it feels like”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you die?” Her voice was barely a whisper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason hesitated. He wasn’t used to talking about this, but he figured he could at least vent to a ghost. It might even make her feel better about the circumstances of her death, he thought. “I died in an explosion” He finally revealed as he looked away. “I realized I was dead when the countdown reached two seconds and nobody came for me. Two seconds isn’t a long time to come to term with the end of your own existence, and everything that comes after”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose not” She sighed. “I guess I’m lucky I have time to figure it out. What’s it like, on the other side?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I honestly can’t really remember” He shook his head. “My memory from the moment I closed my eyes to when I reopened them is scrambled. And even if I did recall, it might be different from you”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think so?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did not elaborate on that, and she did not ask. Jason wasn’t sure whether his visions of hell were from his time in the grave, or if the pit messed with his perspective, but he certainly hoped this girl wouldn’t have to go through something similar as well. They waited in silence for a moment as neither felt the need to speak up. He respected her need to have a moment to herself to absorb all this like he had wished he could have had. He had never felt as vulnerable as when he waited, helpless and unable to move, for the bomb to go off. He had been terrified, clinging to a last hope it was just a nightmare, or that help would have swept in at the last second like it always happened in the movies. He had been truly alone then. Perhaps it was why she had found him earlier, she felt his connection to death and his ability to relate. She seeked one last ray of warmth before disappearing, one last attempt not to be forgotten by reaching out to someone with the best chance to understand her. He doubted it was a coincidence he was the one she let help her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to stay with me…” She spoke up. It could have been ten minutes or more, Jason couldn’t tell. He had been in his head the whole time. “But you did, for what it’s worth. Thank you, Jason”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome, I guess” He half shrugged. “It’s… It’s just things I wish had been said to me in my last moments, comfort I wish had been brought to me when it was time to go. I’m glad it helped ease this transition for you”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. He could feel her unnatural cold radiating on him, see the bleakness of her skin and the absence or a steady rise and fall of her chest now that he was up close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m glad you found me” She muttered, letting her hand fall back down to her side. “I… I think I’m ready to go. But before, could you do me a last favor?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure” He nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you bring back my necklace to my mother?” She asked, staring straight into his eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And probably his soul, by the looks of it</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “This case might never be solved, I don’t want it to be lost in an evidence bag”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was initially surprised by the request, but it made sense. This would be the last thing her mother would have of her daughter, and it didn’t belong in a locker kept away forever. He nodded. “I can do that”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you” She gave him the first real smile he had seen on her face. Her eyes had lost the life in them, that was obvious, but there was this peacefulness that hadn’t been there before. Her resolve to accept her faith showed more and more in her expression, and it was steadily becoming clearer she did not belong to this plane of existence anymore. Two weeks trapped in between life and death without being heard or seen must have been so exhausting, and now she was ready to let go. “Just one more thing”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason furrowed his eyebrows at her sudden knowing expression. He could see it clearly despite her image slowly fading away. Was she even aware of it? He didn’t know, but it didn’t seem painful. He hoped it wasn’t, she deserved an undisturbed rest for what had been done to her in this life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A piece of unwanted advice from a dead girl?” Her tone was a bit playful. He let out a quiet chuckle, his shoulders barely raising. “Call your brothers”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She became serious, and so did he.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The worst thing about this, is that I left this life without even being able to say proper goodbyes to my family” She explained. “I wish more than anything I could just see them one more time to tell them I love them, but I can’t. Don’t take for granted there will always be a later for it, because there might not be”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, for me” She said, almost entirely faded now. “I hope I see you again one day, Jason. Thank you for everything”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she was gone. Jason stared at the empty space beside him, like there had never been anyone there. The cold spot was gone, and with it the last image of her smiling face. The smell of the corpse returned at full strength now that she wasn’t there to manipulate the surroundings, but he couldn’t be bothered by it as much as he was before. He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from where she had been seconds ago, struggling to tell whether or not it had actually happened. But it must have, the entire experience had felt way too real to be a product of his imagination, and the dead body served as a material proof his head didn’t conjure it all up. Slowly, he stood up and went back to the body for one last time. He’d have to place an anonymous call to the police to tip them to the body tomorrow, after giving a heads up to the squatters to steer clear of the building until the situation died down. He bent down and only took the necklace without disturbing anything else, slipping it in a pocket for safe keeping. He’d also have to find a way to give it back to her mother without making it seem like he had killed the girl…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one last silent goodbye to a new found yet ephemeral friend, Jason made his way down to the first floor, his step a little slower and heavier than last time. The first light of the morning peeked shyly through the sky of Gotham as the clouds appeared clear up, like it was their way of reflecting the peaceful passing of a soul on the other side. He never believed in symbolism in nature, but this once, just this once, he could make an exception. He reached the bottom of the stairs and carefully made his way to the main doors, pausing in front of it. The birds in the walls didn’t seem to mind him as they sang the arrival of the morning, and he put back his mask to face the outside once again. He gripped the door handle, pushing even so slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It opened with a groan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, he stepped outside and fished for his phone in his back pocket. He went to his contacts, scrolling down until he found the name he was looking for. Reluctantly, he pressed it and came face to face with the taunting call icon. Surely he would still be awake, his patrol would have ended not too long ago. Or he’d be asleep, and then he’d disturb him. Hesitating, his thumb hovered above the lock screen button, then over the call one, then again, the lock screen. He let out a frustrated huff, looking at the sky. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There might not be a later… Or perhaps there will</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But was he ready to take that chance? He looked at his phone again, taking a deep breath and making his decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the first sun ray reflected his helmet, he called Dick Grayson for the first time in years.</span>
</p>
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